1. Anatomy and Neurophysiology of the Cough Reflex
Brendan J. Canning, PhD 
CHEST 
Volume 129, Issue 1, Pages 33S-47S (January 2006)
DOI: /chest.129.1_suppl.33S
Copyright © 2006 The American College of Chest Physicians Terms and Conditions

2. Figure 1
Wholemounts of (left, A) rat trachea, (middle, B) guinea pig trachea, and (right, C) human bronchus stained immunohistochemically with antisera to the nonspecific neuronal marker protein gene product 9.5. A dense neuronal plexus this is found beneath and within the airway epithelium of all species studied occupies this region of the airway mucosa. The afferent nerves regulating cough likely reside in this plexus. Provided by Dr. S.B. Mazzone (unpublished observations).
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3. Figure 2
Representative traces of single-unit recordings from airway vagal afferent nerve subtypes in anesthetized rats. Left, A: airway C-fibers are quiescent during tidal breathing and relatively unresponsive to lung inflation. However, C-fibers respond vigorously to IV injected capsaicin. RARs (middle, B) and SARs (right, C) are sporadically active during the respiratory cycle. Neither subtype of mechanoreceptor responds to capsaicin, but both respond intensely when the lungs are inflated. Note that RARs are easily differentiated from SARs by their rapid adaptation during sustained lung inflation. Modified with permission of Ho et al.13
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4. Figure 3
Tachykinin-containing C-fibers innervate the rat tracheal mucosa. Double-labeling immunohistochemistry with antisera for (left top, A) the nonspecific neuronal marker protein gene product 9.5 and (left bottom, B) substance P (SP) in wholemounts of rat trachea. Substance P-containing nerve fibers occupy a dense neuronal plexus beneath and within the airway epithelium. The majority of the nerves in this epithelial plexus in rats are C-fibers. Middle, C: retrograde neuronal tracing with fast blue indicates that the perikarya of the tracheal afferent nerves are located in the vagal sensory ganglia. Right, D: many of the retrogradely labeled neurons stain for TRPV1, the capsaicin receptor. Provided by Dr. S.B. Mazzone (unpublished observations).
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5. Figure 4
Intravital labeling of putative cough receptors innervating the bronchial mucosa of guinea pigs using the styryl dye FM2–10. The cough receptors are selectively labeled by FM2–10 (compare the unique structure of these afferent nerve endings with the nerve fibers seen in Figures 1 and 3). These endings arise from the nodose ganglia and are readily activated by punctuated mechanical stimuli and acid, but are insensitive to stretch, smooth muscle constriction, capsaicin, or bradykinin.24 The receptive fields of the cough receptors assume a characteristic position in the mucosa, between the smooth muscle and the epithelium (note the intact epithelium in the living wholemount in the bottom left corner of the photomicrograph). Approximately four to six receptive fields per cartilage ring are labeled using the styryl dye (200 to 300 receptors over the entire trachea and mainstem bronchi of guinea pigs). Comparable staining of the rat airways reveals that this rodent species has few if any cough receptors (< 10 in the entire trachea) in the tracheal or bronchial mucosa. Not surprisingly, then, neither electrical (n = 5) nor mechanical (n = 5) stimulation of the tracheal or laryngeal mucosa of rats evokes coughing, while both of these stimuli readily initiate coughing in guinea pigs. See the text for further details.
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6. Figure 5
Potential actions of and interactions between the vagal afferent nerves mediating cough. Mechanoreceptors and capsaicin-sensitive C-fibers likely play an important role in regulating cough. C-fibers might initiate cough secondary to the axon reflex-dependent activation of RARs. C-fibers might also mediate cough by acting synergistically with RARs or other afferent nerves (eg, cough receptors) at the level of the brainstem. C-fiber-mediated cough, but apparently not cough mediated by RAR activation, is highly sensitive to general anesthesia. Indeed, C-fiber activation under general anesthesia is inhibitory to cough reflexes initiated by RAR activation. Dashed lines indicate the potential pathways and mechanisms regulating cough for which supporting or opposing evidence is limited. Likely sites of action for antitussive agents are indicated in red. Excitatory pathways regulating cough are highlighted in green. Inhibitory pathways regulating cough are highlighted in red. See text for further details.29 Böt/ rVRG = Bötzinger complex/pre-Bötzinger complex/rostral ventral respiratory group; C1-C4 = cervical spinal cord; CB = cannabanoid; E = expiratory-related; GABA = γ-aminobutyric acid; I = inspiratory-related; MN = motorneuron; PDE = phosphodiesterase (eg, theophylline or rolipram).
CHEST  , 33S-47SDOI: ( /chest.129.1_suppl.33S)
Copyright © 2006 The American College of Chest Physicians Terms and Conditions